Tom Sorel, Commissioner, Minnesota Department of Transportation, Paul Labovitz, Superintendent of Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, and the Board of Directors of the Mississippi River Trail, Inc. sponsored the grand opening celebration of Minnesota's first signed section of the Mississippi River Trail. St. Paul’s Mayor, Chris Coleman, hosted this event on June 6, 2009 with a ribbon cutting celebration at Chestnut Plaza.
Shortly after the MRT grand opening ceremony, there was a ribbon cutting to celebrate the opening of the newly restored City House (once called Head House), which includes a bike pavilion at the river's edge.
At the conclusion of the festivities an intrepid corps of bike riders, led by NPS Ranger Ann Sarnecki, celebrated the trail with a nine-mile ride in the rain. Rest stops included visiting with historical character Pierre "Pig's Eye" Parrant, the first person of European descent to settle within what was to become St. Paul. Other NPS rangers interpreted the natural and cultural history of this stretch of the Mississippi River at additional stops.
